Year End Wrap up

Another holiday season has come and gone and I've managed to go the month of December without a new post. I've gotten out a few times, but either the pickin's have been too slim or the prices were too steep, so I've counted it lucky when I've walked out with a single thing.

This pretty pink Pyrex was also pricey, but Christmas is a time for presents, after all. The pink Butterprint is my first piece of elusive pink version. It was cheaper than ebay prices by a goodly chunk but still not what I'd call cheap either.

I got comments from the dealers working the register like I was frivolous, weird or crazy for paying that amount for a small pink Pyrex dish. I wanted to defend my purchase and say something like, "Check how much these are selling for on ebay before you scoff at what I'm paying right now", but I just kept my mouth shut. I'm not saying a word that is going to help them. I can't understand dealers who would treat customers like their purchases were foolish. It makes me not even want to shop in that store any more, even though I know the dealers there are just booth renters working off their monthly rent and not the owners themselves. I could mention it to the owners, but cynically I'm afraid anything I say will just continue to give the message that Pyrex is worth big bucks now so every dealer needs to double check ebay prices before they put it out on the shelves. I just wish that when I was finding cool things I just had a positive association with it and not a negative one, you know?

I also have the hardest time making myself letting myself use pieces I think would be hard to replace. I did actually eat cereal out of it a few times before it made its way into my display, but I definely wouldn't use it in the oven or microwave. Only casual use or refrigerator storage for the pieces I feel like babying! Lol.

The same trip I basically paid 5 dollars for a Shiny Brites box. It had some ornaments in it, but no actual Shiny Brites. I was going to use the ornaments for a wreath, and put some actual Shiny Brites in this box.

This 'Uncle Sam' box is my favorite style. (Uncle Sam shaking hands with Santa Claus on the cover). I have one other just like this, but the tree is is a cellophane covered cut-out. I suspect (but don't know for sure) that since this box specific says Gold ornaments on the bottom side panel that this style was for single color ornaments, and that the cutout version was for more decorated stripes, patterns a/o indents.

Either way, I sure do love Shiny Brites. They are becoming my Christmas obsession. My husband and I visited an out of the way haunt we go to only once in a while and they had positively tons of Shiny Brite ornaments. But each one was priced seperately, usually between 4 to 6 dollars a piece. They had lots of original boxes I ooohed and ahhhhed over, but none were being sold as a boxed set. I mentioned this to my husband who I believe astutely deduced that the boxes were basically just being used as props to sell the ornaments out of. He thought that if you asked about the boxes, they'd either say they weren't for sale or that you'd have to buy the entire contents of the box to go with it  - which would have made a box of ornaments somewhere in the neighborhood of 60 dollars!

And finally, this beautiful tree topper came out of a half-off booth, making it what I think was the best 10 dollars I've spent all year.

So delicate, I hardly handle it. The triple indents are dotted with bright aqua inside. The top and bottom of the ball is pink, and there are handpainted white flowers in between the indents.

I love it so! Can you even get over the price tag - .24 cents from Sears and Roebuck! I'm not sure if the 49 is the year it's from, but that's definitely the right time period.















Well, those are my last goodies of 2015. Here's hoping for great junk in 2016!

Happy Thrifting!